


An Immodest Proposal

by tinyarmedtrex



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie as the heartless boss, Eddie needs a green card, M/M, Richie as the underling, Richie is an idiot, The Proposal AU, at least at first, fake engagement, featuring good parents Went and Maggie, reddie as enemies, rom com AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-01-07 12:59:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18411137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyarmedtrex/pseuds/tinyarmedtrex
Summary: He still didn’t like this. Any of it but Eddie had readily agreed to his demands and his book was getting published. “What am I supposed to tell my parents?”Eddie looked up at him and smiled. “Tell them you met the love of your life and you’re bringing him home with you.”[Or, Eddie may be the bane of Richie's existence but when he needs quickie marriage for a green card Richie agrees. A 'The Proposal' AU)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xander_The_Undead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xander_The_Undead/gifts).



“Shit he’s coming,” Ben whispered to Richie. “You need to go!” Richie’s head whipped up from where he was sitting on Ben’s desk, seeing the small, angry figure of their boss stalking towards them. 

“Fuck he’s early.” Richie said, scrambling to stand and grab the coffees. “I’ll talk to you later.” Ben gave him a quick thumbs up as Richie walked to the front of Eddie’s office, standing there as Eddie walked in.

“We have three proposals to go over.” Eddie told him, barely even glancing at Richie as he took the coffee. “Did you get the extension for the King manuscript?” He sipped then frowned. “This isn’t soy.” He looked up at Richie, who swore silently.

“This one is yours, sir.” He said, handing Eddie the other cup. “I didn’t drink from it.” 

Eddie’s eyes narrowed but he took the cup, drinking again. “Better.” He sat at his desk, beginning to type and read emails, already ignoring Richie. 

Richie was used to it. Normally this was ideal, to have his gremlin of a boss dismiss him so easily but today he needed something so he cleared his throat. “I got the King extension.” He said, Eddie only gave him a small ‘hm’ of acknowledgement, not looking up. Richie soldiered on. “Mr. Kaspbrak, did you read the story I left on your desk?” 

“No.” 

Richie curled his hands into fists, trying not to scream.  “It’s the first story I’ve brought you in months. I think we should publish it. You should at least read it. You owe me that much.” He tried to keep the heat out of his voice but it was nearly impossible. Eddie Kaspbrak infuriated him like no one else ever had. 

Eddie smacked his lips and looked up at Richie, letting his own annoyance shine through. “I’m not reading it. I don’t have time for every Joe Small Author Richie. I am a busy man.” 

Richie had to resisted the urge to throw Eddie’s fancy soy latte in his smug face. “Mr. Kaspbrak-” He started again. 

“I believe I made myself quite clear.” Eddie said, raising an eyebrow. “You can take that manuscript off my desk, get rid of it. I don’t care what you do with it.”

Richie clenched his jaw, wishing he could tell Eddie exactly where he wanted to put the manuscript.  He had worked for Eddie for five years. Five long years that alternated between him debated if he hated Eddie or himself more. Eddie was known around the office as Satan’s Sweetheart, everyone joking that the devil himself was the only person who would want him. He was harsh, aloof and completely unwilling to compromise. He had fired assistants for being five minutes late or mispronouncing his last name. He was usually the first in the office and the last to leave and had similar expectations for everyone else. The higher ups adored him, probably because of his complete devotion to the job, but to everyone else he was the office leper, to be avoided at all costs. 

He was also one of the best in the publishing business. He was able to sign contracts that no one else could, he could coax second books out of people that others had long given up on. Richie had heard about his quirks when he’d taken the job but he also knew that it was his best chance at getting into the publishing world. Over the years he’d served as a mix between Eddie’s personal assistant and receptionist, picking up his coffee and dry cleaning in hopes that it would pay off. He despised Eddie but he loved the work, reading books and giving new authors a chance had always been his dream and he refused to let Eddie take that away.

Eddie didn’t reply and Richie knew he was dismissed. Annoyance burned in him at the injustice of it. It was a brilliant first book and Eddie had no reason to refuse to look at it except that he was Eddie. He wanted to scream but instead he took a deep breath and turned on his heels, grabbing the manuscript as he did.  

“Oh Richie?” Eddie asked as he reached the door. He paused, turning to look back at Eddie. “Close the door on your way out.”

“Of course Mr. Kaspbrak.” He replied, forcing himself not to slam it as he went to his small cube. He always had a message from Ben, asking how Eddie was this morning. Richie replied with a devil face before diving into his emails. 

As he read through the messages Eddie had sent him at 1, 2 and 3am he saw people walking up to Eddie’s office. Since he knew Eddie’s schedule inside and out he knew that Eddie didn’t have a meeting until 10:30. As the two approached Richie recognized them as the CEO and President of their company. He was flooded with IMs from his coworkers asking him what was happening but he ignored them, instead standing as the two approached. 

“Mr. Smith, Ms. Johnson, can I help you?” He asked, grateful that he wasn’t wearing one of his novelty ties. 

Both paused to look at him. “We need to talk to Mr. Kaspbrak.” Ms. Johnson said. “You’re his assistant correct?”

“I’m actually a junior copy editor.” He said but they didn’t hear, already walking into Eddie’s office.

“You might as well come in,” Mr. Smith said, “You’ll need to help Mr. Kaspbrak with his affairs.”

Richie was confused but grabbed a pen and paper, following them in and closing the door behind him. As he did Eddie looked up, his annoyed expression immediately changing into a pleased one. “Jane, Matt, how can I help you two?” Richie couldn’t believe the difference in how he talked to them versus him. It made his anger burn even brighter. 

“Eddie we got an interesting call this morning.” Ms. Johnson started, looking out the window and down at the city. “It seems your visa has expired.” 

The smaller man stood, waving his hand. “I forgot all about it, I’ll pop over and get it renewed tomorrow.”

“No,” Mr. Smith replied, shaking his head. “It seems you can’t. You’ve reached your limit for how many times you can renew. You’ll need to return to Canada and reapply.”

“Oh,” Eddie’s face fell but then he recovered, working through his options. “Well, I can work in Toronto for a bit, that’s no issue. I’ll call into our meetings, you won’t even notice my absence.” 

“That won’t work.” Mrs. Johnson said, turning to Eddie. “We checked and, for your position, we need someone who is in the country. Legally, we can’t have allow someone in another country to hold the job.”

“We’re very sorry,” Mr. Smith continued. “If there was any other way-” He shrugged, helpless. “But we’re going to have to ask you to clear out your office. Today.”

For the first time Richie saw Eddie falter, looking shocked. “No, no, I can fix this. I can-” His eyes scanned his office frantically before landing on Richie. He straightened his tie then walked over, awkwardly standing next to Richie. “I wasn’t going to tell you this but I’m engaged. To Mr. Tozier here.” He awkwardly  patted Richie’s shoulder.

A chorus of what’s? Followed that statement, the loudest from Richie. Eddie looked at him, taking his hand. “Cat’s out of the bag dear, you knew we’d have to come clean eventually.” He turned back to the others. “We’ll simply move up the wedding and this little problem will solve itself.” He smiled at his bosses. “Easy peasy.”

Mr. Smith and Ms. Johnson exchanged looks, clearly skeptical. “You two are engaged?” Mr. Smith asked and Eddie nodded enthusiastically. “Isn’t he your secretary?”

Eddie laughed, the sound a little too high to be natural. “Well now I wouldn’t be the first to fall for my secretary would I?” He put a hand around Richie’s hip, moving his arm several times until it rested on the small of his back. Richie was frozen in place, sure that was was some sort of strange nightmare. “So, if that’s all…?” Eddie asked. 

The two looked at each other and nodded. “Fine. Just make it legal. Your visa expires in two weeks.” Ms. Johnson said and Eddie nodded again, offering them a charming smile. The two left and Eddie stepped back, sighing and returning to his computer. 

Richie stayed standing, staring at Eddie and waiting for an explanation. When it was clear that nothing was coming he cleared his throat. That made Eddie glance at him, “What?” He asked, pushing his glasses up.

“What the fuck?” Richie whispered, walking up to Eddie’s desk. “What the fuck was that?” 

Eddie tsked, waving his hand. “It was nothing. It’ll be fine.” He bent back down, reading an email. 

Richie shook his head. Clearly they had very different ideas of what constituted ‘fine’. “No, no it’s not fine. You told them we were getting married. That is  _ not  _ fine.”

The other man sighed. “Listen Richie, we’ll get married. Stay married for a few months until I get citizenship and then get a quickie divorce. It’ll be work out perfectly.”

“It’s a fucking felony.” Richie hissed. “I’m not going to jail for you.”

“No one will ever know.” Eddie replied, still unconcerned. “And we both know you aren’t dating anyone so what’s the issue?”

Richie slammed his hand down on Eddie’s desk, finally making him look at Richie. “I’m not going to jail for you. Fuck that.” He turned, ready to leave the room. 

“Wait.” Eddie said, standing up. 

Richie turned back, crossing his arms. “What?”

“I’ll publish your book.” He gestured to the Richie’s desk. “5000 copies.”

“10.” Richie countered. “And I want a promotion, to senior editor. And you have to publish 2 more books that I pick.” 

Eddie hummed unhappily but nodded. “Fine. We’ll go to the courthouse tomorrow after work.” 

Richie shook his head. “No way, I’m going back home after work, for my dad’s birthday. Plus, we’ll have to take a test. You have a ton of homework to do.” 

Eddie furrowed his brow and Richie laughed. “You don’t know shit about me.” 

“I know plenty about you!” Eddie contested. 

“What’s my middle name?” He asked. Eddie paused. “What’s my favorite color? Where did I grow up?” 

Eddie crossed his arms, waving a hand. “Oh, like you know any of that about me.” 

“Frank. Green and Glen Park.” Richie listed them with ease. 

“Fine,” Eddie relented. “I suppose I have some facts to learn. I’ll learn them this weekend when we visit your family.” He gave Richie a fake smile. “Upgrade the tickets to first class, make sure you get the miles. And book us two hotel rooms, you can use the company card. I’ll meet you at the airport tomorrow.” He went back to his computer, clearly expecting Richie to leave. 

But he didn’t, he stood there and weighed his options. He still didn’t like this. Any of it but Eddie had readily agreed to his demands and his book was getting published. “What am I supposed to tell my parents?” 

Eddie looked up at him and smiled. “Tell them you met the love of your life and you’re bringing him home with you.” 

\--------

“No mom, when I said he’s Satan incarnate I was joking. Obviously. No, he’s great. You’ll love him. Promise. Yes. Yes. No! Don’t say stuff like that to your son. Gross.  We’re taking off, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in a few hours. No, he doesn’t need a water dish for his three headed dog. Yes, that was a very clever joke. Bye, love you.” 

Richie hung up and exhaled loudly. 

“Sounds like you mentioned me to your parents.” Eddie said from beside him, drinking a white wine and looking thoroughly unamused. 

“Once or twice.” Richie replied, downing his whiskey sour. They were on the plane, having spent more for first class tickets than Richie spent on rent. He’d texted his parents that morning, hoping they wouldn’t see it before he took off but, of course, they did and called him until he picked up. He didn’t care if Eddie’s heard, he wasn’t in the mood to pretend that he liked the other man. This was a business deal. Nothing more. 

“You need to start learning all of this about me.” He said, pulling out a binder and handing it to Eddie. He had put it together last night. He refused to go to jail because Eddie didn’t know his childhood pet’s names.  “It’s all the questions from the immigration agency.”

Eddie put down his phone and paged through it, frowning. “You said you already know all this about me?” 

Richie nodded, catching a flight attendant to order another drink. She brought him one, her hand brushing his for a second too long and he winked at her. Eddie scoffed. “We’re engaged, keep it in your pants Tozier.”

He rolled his eyes. “Even on vacation you can’t relax.” Richie was in sweatpants and a tee, a normal flight outfit. Eddie looked like he was going into the office, slacks and a button up shirt, complete with a tie and expensive shoes. 

“I like to look professional.” He sipped his wine, reading the questions. “You can’t really know all of these about me.”

“Test me.” Richie replied, turning towards him. 

Eddie opened to a random page. “Allergies.”

“That’s easy. Tea tree oil, walnuts and the whole spectrum of human emotions.”

“Hilarious.” Eddie flipped to another page, taking another drink of wine. “Okay, do I have any tattoos?”

“I’m pretty sure you have one.” Eddie raised an eyebrow so he continued. “You always tuck your shirt into your shorts on track and field day and at one point a tattoo removal company called you.” He glanced at Eddie, smirking. “So what is it? Do you have a tramp stamp? Is it a flower? Tweety bird?”

He watched Eddie flush slightly then shake his head. “You’re wrong there.” He cleared his throat, looking back down at the book. “I’ll never learn all of these about you. It doesn’t matter, they won’t ask us everything anyway.”

“You’ve got to learn something about me. We’re supposed to be in love.” 

Eddie finished his wine, pressing the call signal for another. “Fine. Tell me about your family.” 

Richie leaned back, counting his family on his fingers. “One dad, Went, he’s a dentist. Good guy, bit of a tool but always laughed at my jokes. One mom, Maggie. She’s a good lady. Raised me then became a receptionist at my dad’s office.” He shrugged. “They’re good parents, confused why I moved across the country for a job I hate but they try.” It was weird to talk and have Eddie listen to him. He nodded along as Richie spoke, seeming to actually care about what he was saying. “What about you?” He knew Eddie’s dad was dead, every year he sent flowers to a grave with the headstone Frank Kaspbrak but his mom was mostly a mystery. She was alive, living in Canada but Eddie hadn’t been to visit her, at least not since Richie started working for him. 

“Not a lot to tell.” Eddie said, accepting another glass of wine. “My dad died when I was young. My mom and I don’t get along.” He paused and Richie saw him searching for a topic change. “Do you have any tattoos?” 

With a smirk Richie pulled up his shirt, showing Eddie a smiley face on his ribs. “A Nirvana fan then.” Eddie commented as Richie pulled his shirt down. 

“16 year old Richie was.” He said. “He thought this was pretty hot shit. Got grounded for a month when Maggie found out. My shitty teen rebellion.”

Eddie giggled, hiding it behind his hand and Richie grinned. “Shit Eds, that’s a cute noise. I’ve never heard you laugh.” 

The other man frowned. “You’ve heard me laugh. And don’t call me Eds.”

“It’s a nickname! And no, I haven’t. I’d remember that noise.” 

He shook his head. “Eddie is already a nickname. I need to get some work done. And so do you.” Richie watched the man closed himself off, pulling out his phone and connecting it to the wifi.

Richie pulled out his phone too, not to check email but to browse reddit and watch gifs of cats being scared by cucumbers. He was frustrated by the way that Eddie just shut down. For a minute, he thought that they were actually getting along but now it was back to the way it had always been. Eddie isn’t a normal person, Richie reminded himself, he’s a cyborg or something. He wasn’t doing this to get to know Eddie better, he was doing it for himself. 

After one and a half movies and a stony silence they landed in Maine, getting off the plane and grabbing their bags.

“Where are your parents?” Eddie asked, looking around as Richie resisted the urge to comment on how many bags Eddie had brought for the trip. They were there for 5 days and he had two big suitcases compared to Richie’s duffel bag

Richie scoffed. “We don't live in Bangdor. We’ve still got an hour long bus ride to get to Derry.” 

Eddie scrunched his nose, making Richie think, for a brief second, that he looked adorable. “I am not getting on a bus.”

“The other option is a very expensive Lyft ride.” 

“Fine.” Eddie said, striding towards the exit. Richie waited a minute, watching him get to the door before realizing that Richie wasn’t following. 

“Lyfts are that way.” He said, pointing in the opposite direction. Looking pissed Eddie turned around, one of his bags tripping him up. 

“You could have told me that.” He hissed, finally making it back to Richie.

Richie grinned at him. “And miss all that? No way.” Eddie grumbled but followed Richie as he walked. Outside he waited for Eddie to order the car, there was no way he was paying when he was fine with the bus. 

The minute they were in the car Eddie pulled out his phone and a headset, immediately starting to make calls. Richie knew he shouldn’t be surprised that Eddie carried a headset, the other man probably slept with it on. Eddie started barking orders into the phone, talking to authors, other people in the office, agents. He seemed to have mastered having on conversation on the phone while also replying to emails. It was impressive, if also a little sad. 

The ride went smoothly but as they got closer to Derry Richie started growing nervous. His parents weren’t happy about this, for as much as they’d been bugging him to settle down they didn’t want it to be with the person he’d spent the last five years complaining about. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain it to them. 

When they were twenty minutes out he couldn’t wait any longer. “Hey, Eddie.” Eddie held up a finger, telling him to wait. 

Annoyed, Richie let his fingers strum across the seat between them. Eddie was on the call for five more minutes before he finally hung up. “What?” He glanced at Richie. “Did you decide to get some work done?”

“No I’m on vacation.” He replied, growing annoyed. “I want to talk about how we’re going to convince people that we’re together.” Eddie’s expression didn’t change so he continued. “We need people to believe the we’re engaged. We may need to hold hands? Or have cute nicknames? Something?” 

Eddie’s nose wrinkled again, an expression that Richie was getting used to. “Are you sure?”

Richie nodded. “My family is used to me being touchy, they called me koala bear growing up. If we don’t touch each other no one who knows me will buy this.” 

The sides of Eddie’s mouth quirked up, so quickly Richie nearly missed it. “Koala Bear? That’s cute.” He nodded. “Okay, fine. We can hold hands. As for nicknames I’m not really a nickname person.” 

“Well I am,  _ Eds _ .” He replied, purposefully emphasizing the word. “So you’ll need something.” 

Eddie’s eyes had already fallen back to his phone. “I’ll call you…” He paused, replying to an email. “Cookie.” 

“Cookie?” 

Eddie looked back at him. “You don’t like that?”

“Use it in a sentence.” He challenged. 

“Okay.” Eddie thought for a second.  “I really like that shirt, Cookie. Oh.” He frowned. “That doesn’t really work.”

“Yes, it’s bad.” Richie told him, smiling at Eddie’s unhappiness. 

“Okay. Fine. It’s bad.” Eddie admitted. “I’ll think of something else.” He promised. That was good enough for Richie. 

The car slowed and he glanced around. They were in his neighborhood. “We’re here.” He said, swallowing his nerves as the car parked. 

Eddie looked around and Richie felt defensive. Eddie hadn’t said anything but he felt judged. Given how Eddie acted and dressed Richie assumed that he was used to living in luxury, staying in fancy places with egyptian sheets and bellhops. He knew his neighborhood wasn’t much but it was his. He loved the broken shingles and sinking porches. It was home and he wasn’t going to let it be judged by an upright gnome. 

He opened his mouth to preemptively defend it but Eddie surprised him by speaking first. “It’s nice. I like the pink shutters.”

“Thanks, mom and I painted them when I was ten.” He said, then cringed. His parents were waiting on the porch, waving at him as the driver popped the trunk. They were on him the second he opened the door, both kissing him and commenting on how  _ thin  _ he was, didn’t they have food in LA? Oh no matter they made plenty. 

“Mom, dad, stop.” Richie said, pulling back. Eddie was standing by their bags and if Richie didn’t know better he’d say that the smaller man was nervous. Richie wound an arm around his mom’s waist, directing her to Eddie. “This is my fiance, Eddie.”

He felt both his parents stiffen. “Well, we’ve certainly heard a lot about you.” His dad started. “None of it good,” He added under his breath.

“Dad!” Richie chided as Eddie’s eyes dropped.

He was about to say more but his mom stepped forward, pulling Eddie into a hearty hug. “Welcome to our home.” She said, pulling back to look at him, leaving her hands on his shoulders. “We’re excited to get to know you.” She gave him her patented mom smile, the one that no one could resist. 

Eddie was no exception. He smiled back. “Thank you Mrs. Tozier, for letting me come.”

“Maggie.” She said, still smiling. “Let’s get your bags inside and get you some food! I’m sure you’re starved.” 

“We can leave them on the porch, it’ll be easier to grab them for the hotel.” Eddie replied, trying to take one of his bags but Maggie and Went moved faster, grabbing his and Richie’s. 

“Oh we cancelled that.” Maggie called behind her. “No son of ours is staying in a hotel.”

Eddie looked at Richie, his eyes wide. “Just remember, you wanted to come.,” Richie said, clapping his shoulder. “Welcome to casa de Tozier.” He added before following his parents. Eddie trailed behind. 

Walking into the house Richie took a deep breath, immediately feeling at home. He loved the unchanging nature of the place, how the scratches he’d put in the floor as a kid were still there, how there were always flowers on the table. It was comforting. 

“We put your bags in the guest room.” Went said, reappearing with lemonade and cookies. “Sit down boys.” 

“They turned my room into a craft room.” Richie explained as he and Eddie sat on the couch. “Even though no one in this family crafts!” He said, loud enough for his mom to hear too. 

“We don't need to stay together. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Eddie told them, clasping his hands in his lap and looking deeply unhappy.

“Nonsense!” Maggie replied, coming in and grabbing two cookies. “We’re under no illusions that you boys don’t sleep together. We won’t separate you here.” 

“Hear that Eds, honey, they won’t separate us.” Richie said, smiling at him. Eddie gave him a weak one in return. 

Maggie and Went were watching them like they suspected something but Richie refused to give them anything. He leaned in, grabbing a lemonade for himself and Eddie then shoving several cookies in his mouth, giving him a minute. Eddie did the nose wrinkle again as Richie chewed. 

“Well son, tell us the story.” His dad asked as he drank half his lemonade in one go. 

Richie swallowed thickly. “The story?” 

“How you boys got engaged.” Maggie explained. “I’d like to hear too.” 

“Oh, sure, that story.” He glanced at Eddie, whose lips were pinched tightly together. “The story. It’s pretty great.” He stalled, trying to think of something. 

“It was our anniversary.” Eddie said, staring at his lemonade. “He rented a hotel room, flower petals on the bed, chilled champagne, the whole nine yards.” Eddie rubbed his thumb over the condensation. “When I got there he drew us a bubble bath and explained how much I meant to him. We had strawberries and champagne and he told me how much he loved me. Then he pulled the ring out and asked.” Eddie finally looked at Richie, looking sad but offering a small smile. “It was very romantic.”

Richie had no idea where all that came from but he was aware enough to nod along, agreeing with everything Eddie said. Maggie clasped her hands, “Oh Richie, that’s so sweet! I was worried you asked over fast food burgers or something!” 

“No, it was perfect.” Eddie agreed then stood. “If it’s okay, I’d like to take a nap? I’m tired from the flight.” 

“Of course, Richie show him where the guest room is?” Maggie asked and Richie nodded, standing with Eddie and directing him to the room. Eddie seemed quiet, drawn in on himself again.

“That was some quick thinking Eds.” Richie said, leaning against the door as he watched Eddie take his clothes out and put them away. “Good story.” 

Eddie shrugged. “Thanks, it-” He paused, folding a shirt. “It’s a pretty typical story.” 

Richie didn’t think it was and he wanted to ask more but Eddie turned to him, letting out a fake yawn. “I am tired, I think I’ll take a nap.”

“Okay, well, when you wake up I can take you around town.” Eddie nodded, crawling into the bed. Richie knew that the second he left Eddie would be back on his phone, probably making calls in the bathroom so they wouldn’t hear downstairs. 

He left, glancing at all the pictures of him as a kid as he went back downstairs. He always forgot how long it had taken him to grow into his teeth.

“Richie, come outside. Help your old man.” Went called him and Richie listened, going outside. “Need some help cutting down a few branches.” He handed Richie the branch cutter and started pointing to branches he wanted cut.

“So, Eddie seems… nice.” Went said as Richie started to cut. 

Richie looked at him then raised his arms to start cutting. “Just spit it out dad.” 

His dad didn’t keep up the ruse any longer than he had to. “Last time you called us we listened to you complain about Eddie’s coffee preference for twenty minutes. Then how he was ignoring your recommendations for another forty. So you’ll excuse me if I’m a bit skeptical.”

Richie didn’t reply, focusing on the branch. “I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d be disappointed.”

“Richard,  you tell us everything. You called me when you got an extra donut hole.” 

“Hey, that’s a cause for celebrating.”

“Your relationship should be more exciting than a donut hole.” Went told him, crossing his arms. 

“It is. I’m happy dad, he makes me happy.” 

“Really? Does he? He seems cold. And stiff.” 

He cut faster, starting to get annoyed. “You barely know him.”

“You’ve spent years complaining about him, sometimes I think I know him better than I know you.”

The branch cracked and fell, both men jumping back. Richie turned to his dad, “Give him a chance. Or don’t. We’re getting married dad, the least you can do is pretend to be happy.” He waited a beat and when he didn’t reply Richie put down the cutter. “I’m going inside to talk to mom.” 

He left, finding his mom in the kitchen, washing the dishes. “Let me.” 

“So you and Eddie.” She said, moving aside and letting Richie take over.

He groaned. “Are you going to fucking start too?” 

“Language.” She chided without any heat.  “And no. I was going to ask when the wedding would be. Will we be invited?” 

He glanced at her, seeing that she looked amused. He sighed. “Dad has some opinions about this.” She hmm’ed and he continued. “I know, you won’t say anything against him. United force and shit. Fine.” He started washing a cup with more vigor than was necessary. “But we’re together Mom, we’re getting married. I’d love if you supported me but if not that’s fine.”

“So dramatic.” She leaned over, kissing his cheek. “We support you Puppy, it’s was a surprise, is all. Let’s talk about something else. Do you still have that squirrel problem?” Richie had never been so grateful to talk about Mr. and Mrs. Speckles and how they had invaded is home.

He caught up with his mom until Eddie came down. “Eddie!” Maggie cried when she heard him enter the room. To Richie's surprise it looked like the smaller man had actually slept. His hair was mussed and he had changed into something more casual. 

“Hi,” He said, not moving from the doorframe. He seemed acutely aware that he was interrupting Richie and his mom and looked like he wanted to disappear. 

Maggie picked up on it too and walked over to him, beaming. “Richie, you and your father should go pick up dinner from Rooster’s. I want to get to know my future son in law.” 

Both Richie and Eddie started to argue but she shook her head. “No, let an old lady have this. Make sure you pick up a double order of biscuits, I know both you and your father will eat 4 of them.” She looked at Eddie. “I hope you’re ready for my garbage disposal of a son.” 

Eddie chuckled, glancing at Richie. “I think I can handle it.” 

Maggie beamed, “Oh, I like him already. You’re going to help me make a cake while they get dinner.” She grabbed Eddie an apron then looked at Richie. “What are you still doing here? Go find your father, your fiance and I are hungry.” 

Richie didn’t particularly want to leave his mom with Eddie or Eddie with his mom but he wasn’t being given a chance. He went out to find his dad and the two drove to get dinner from Richie’s favorite take out place. They avoided discussing Eddie so the ride went well, if a little tense. 

When they returned Richie wasn’t ready for the sight that greeted him. Eddie was signing along (badly) to the oldies with his mom while he stirred frosting. Eddie was covered in flour and cocoa and looked happy. Richie had never seen him look so relaxed. As the door shut  Maggie leaned in and swiped a finger in the bowl, nodding her approval. His mother was clearly a miracle worker, or a witch. 

“My boys!” Maggie said, turning around and smiling at them. “Richie, I hope you know how good of a baker Eddie is, you can finally stop eating those awful microwaved cakes.”

“I like them.” Richie said, still stunned by the scene in front of him. 

“Try the frosting,” Maggie added absentmindedly. She went over to Went and the two started laying out dinner.

Richie walked over to Eddie, who had become more reserved as soon as Richie entered the room. “You look like you’re having fun.” Richie muttered, hoping his parents couldn’t hear. They were discussing the white to dark meat ratio and he cringed as his mom made a joke about preferring white meat while she kissed his dad. 

“It was okay.” Eddie replied, untying the apron.

“I’m supposed to try that.” Richie pointed to the bowl that Eddie had put down. Eddie gestured as if to say ‘go ahead’ but Richie shook his head. “It’s more convincing if you feed me.” 

Eddie balked, shaking his head so Richie prodded him more. “Come on Eds, put on a show for the parents.” He wasn't’ sure why he cared but he did. He wanted Eddie to give in, just a little. 

“Fine.” Eddie scooped up some frosting on his finger and held it to Richie’s mouth, letting him lick it off. 

“Delicious.” Richie said, enjoying how red Eddie was. Then he leaned in, “I meant off the spoon but that worked too.” 

Eddie went even redder and whispered, “Oh fuck you.”

“Boys, let’s eat!” Maggie said, moving aside and showing them the plates they’d assembled. Winking at Eddie, Richie went to sit with his parents, Maggie warning Eddie to watch his biscuits because Richie would steal them right off his plate. Richie tried to steal them once and Eddie nearly stabbed him with his fork, much to the delight of both of his parents. He left the biscuits alone after that. 

The rest of the night passed quickly and soon Eddie and Richie were saying goodnight and going to their room.

“I’ll sleep on the floor.” Richie offered, grabbed the spare blankets from the closet and laying them down.

“I- thank you.” Eddie replied, disappearing into the bathroom. 

When he came out Richie whistled, looking at Eddie’s outfit. “Damn Eddie, you’ve been hiding that ass.”

Eddie flushed, trying to pull down the tiny red shorts he was wearing. “Shut up. I thought I’d be sleeping alone in a hotel. Not here.” He crossed his arms over his tank top, rushing to the bed and climbing under the covers. 

“Well I was planning to sleep naked so you ruined my plans too.” Richie told him, stripping down to his boxers and getting in the small nest he made. 

“I don’t need to know that.” Eddie replied, turning off the light. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight Eds.” Richie replied.

Eddie let out a strangled sound and Richie heard him sit up. “Don’t call me that. It’s different in front of your parents but I’m still your boss.” 

“Yes sir.” Richie resisted adding a salut, knowing Eddie wouldn’t see it. 

There was a short silence then Eddie added, “Your mom is great.” 

Richie recognized it as Eddie’s way of offering an olive branch so he sat up, saying, “She deserves mom of the year for some of the shit she put up with from me.” Richie paused, thinking of his teenage shenanigans. “She likes you.” He added.

“She was just being nice.” 

“No Eds, she taught you her frosting recipe. She doesn’t teach that to just any ol’ person. She didn’t even teach me until I graduated from college.” 

“Really?” Eddie sounded incredulous and a bit hopeful. 

“Really.” Richie replied firmly. 

Eddie went quiet and Richie wondered for a second if he had fallen asleep. But then he spoke again. “It’s been a long time since someone baked with me.” 

The sadness in his words made Richie’s heart hurt. “Well I think Maggie will whenever you want.” For some reason, thinking back on the two of them in the kitchen, how happy Eddie had looked, made Richie’s heart swell. “You’ll just have to share the results with me.”

Eddie laughed. “Deal.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Richie and Eddie!” Everyone chorused. For his part, Richie took a deep bowing, earning some chuckles. Eddie looked like he wanted to disappear.
> 
> “Now you’ve got to kiss!” One of his neighbors called out.
> 
> Eddie paled and he tried to laugh it off. “We’re not much for PDA Mrs. Henderson!”
> 
> But another neighbor scoffed, “Richie you gave everyone in your kindergarten class a hug on the first day! Kiss your fiance!” A murmur of agreement went through the crowd and Richie glanced at Eddie, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.
> 
> “Like you mean it! It’s your engagement party after all!”

“Boys! Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!” Richie woke up suddenly to his mom’s voice. He was confused where he was until a sharp pain in his back reminded him that he had slept on the floor. Then everything came flooding back. 

“We brought you breakfast.” His dad added. 

“Hope you’re decent.” 

Richie sprang up, looking at Eddie, who was waving at him frantically. “Get up here!” He whispered, pointing to the bed. 

Kicking his makeshift bed behind the bed frame Richie launched himself into the bed, the two of them arranging themselves so Eddie was leaning against Richie.

“I can feel your hard on.” He hissed, moving away.

“Well it’s called morning wood for a reason!” Richie said. 

“Boys?” Maggied called. Both sat up, Richie throwing an arm over Eddie. 

“Come in!” He called, running his fingers over Eddie’s bare shoulder. He felt how stiff the other man was next to him but didn’t have time so say anything before his parents barged in.

“Hope we aren’t interrupting anything!” Maggie said, putting down a small tray of coffee and cinnamon buns in front of them. 

“I told her this was over the top.” Went added. 

Maggie stood, hitting her husband’s arm. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t make the cinnamon rolls.” She beamed at them. “We were wondering if we could throw you boys an engagement party! We already have your dad’s birthday party so we thought we could just throw it on.” She looked at them eagerly. 

“Oh mom, no,” Richie glanced at Eddie, who was nodding in agreement. “It’s too much, that’s too much to ask.” 

“We want to!” She insisted.

“You boys may as well agree, she already called everyone.” 

Richie closed his eyes and sighed. “In that case we’d love that.”

“Great!’ She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Since the party is tonight, I may send you boys out for some last minute things later, you can show him the town!”

“All two blocks of it.” Richie muttered.  He glanced over to see that Eddie was, wisely, choosing not to speak, instead he had a death grip on one of the cups of coffee. 

Maggie was still beaming at them and Went grabbed her hand. “We’ll go now, see you boys once you’re dressed.”

“Right! Bye Puppy! Bye Eddie!” She waved to them as they left the room.

“Still a fan of my mom?” Richie asked, leaning in and grabbing some of the cinnamon roll. He popped it in his mouth and groaned. “She does bake damn well though.”

Eddie wrinkled his nose. “How can you eat that?” 

“Easy.” Richie tore off another piece. “Like this.” He leaned closer to Eddie and ate it, groaning again. “Don’t tell me you’re a health nut.”

“I care about my body, if that’s what you mean.” Eddie replied, leaning in and pouring himself more coffee. 

“So you’re saying you don’t want any of this?” Richie asked, pointing to the two giant rolls. Eddie shook his head so he lifted the tray and moved it onto his lap, diving in. Eddie watched with disgust, not commenting as Richie inhaled the rolls. 

“I’m going to shower.” Eddie said, “I’ll leave you to your trough.” 

“Wait,” Richie swallowed and Eddie paused. “This engagement party thing- are you okay with it?”

Eddie shrugged. “I don't think we have a choice.” He said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Richie nodded to himself, Eddie was right, once Maggie decided something it was happening, come hell or high water. Finishing the food he went downstairs, where his mom immediately presented him with a list and keys to their beat up jeep. Eddie came down shortly after and Richie let himself admire how cute the other man looked in his jeans and fitted shirt. 

“Come along Eds, there’s errands afoot!” Richie told him, linking their arms and tugging the smaller man along. Richie drove them downtown, pointing out all the local attractions, like the bright pink house that had caused a scandal or the extra tall fence that divided warring neighbors. He expected Eddie to roll his eyes at everything but instead he laughed, asking questions about Richie’s stories. It almost felt like they were friends. 

“Alright, we’ll park here. This is a pretty central spot.” Richie said, pulling into a parking spot on Main street. 

Eddie glanced around. “This is it?” 

Richie nodded, climbing out of the car and going around to Eddie’s side so he could open the door. “Derry isn’t exactly a big city there Eds.” Eddie scowled and opened his mouth to rebuke Richie but he smiled. “Nope, we’re in public therefore we’re fake fiances therefore nicknames are acceptable.” 

“Fine.” Eddie replied, scowling deeper as Richie gleefully took his hand, swinging it as they walked. 

“So we need to pick up the cake,” Richie said as they strolled. “Then go to the general store and get some decorations.”

“General store?” Eddie asked, “This place really is trapped in time.”

“It’s quaint Eds.” Richie replied, opening the door for him. “Life from a bygone era when the men were men and the women were women.”

Eddie glanced up at him. “So you hated growing up here.”

“Mostly, yea.” He said, pleased that Eddie had picked up on that. “But it had some perks.” He went to the bakery counter, asking for a cake under ‘Tozier’ as Eddie looked around the pink and white shop.

“Richie Tozier, as I live and breath.” He heard behind him. Turning around, he saw one of the biggest perks of Derry. His ex boyfriend, Mike Hanlon. He was already pulling Richie into a hug, smiling at him. 

“God damn Mike, you look good.” Richie told him, eyeing up how Mike’s biceps popped under his shirt.

“Farmwork, keeps you young.” He replied with an easy smile. “What brings you home?”

Richie pointed to the cake. “The old man’s birthday.”

“It’s the time of the year already.” 

Richie nodded, eyes still traveling over Mike. Their break up had been amiable, Mike wanted to stay in Derry, he loved the town despite its flaws. Richie wanted to see the world, to live somewhere that was more than one gas station and six bars. They still talked, occasionally, calling each other on birthdays, but Richie hadn’t even thought to tell Mike he’d be in town.

He missed Eddie sliding back over until he felt a hand in his. “Who’s this?” Eddie asked, his voice the sweetest that Richie had ever heard. 

“Eddie, meet Mike. Mike, this is Eddie, my fiance.” He said, watching both of their expressions shift, Mike’s to surprise and Eddie’s to… annoyance? If Richie didn’t know better he would have said jealousy. 

“Nice to meet you.” Mike said, recovering first. He held out a hand for Eddie to shake. “And congratulations!”

“Thank you.” Eddie replied. Then he turned to Richie, “Should we finish those errands, babe?” 

Richie barely managed to keep his eyes from bulging out of his skull but he nodded, grabbing the cake and walking with Eddie. As they reached the door he turned back to Mike, “You should come, if you want. I know Went would love to see you. Party starts at 4. It’s an engagement thing for ol’ Eds and I too.”

Mike nodded, looking from Richie to Eddie. “I’d like that.” 

Richie grinned, flashing him a thumbs up before Eddie pulled him through the door. 

“What was that?” Eddie asked, clearly annoyed. He snatched his hand back as soon as they were outside. “Why’d you invite him?”

“Because Maggie and Went love him, probably more than they love me.” He glanced at Eddie. “Why do you care? Are you jealous?”

“No!” Eddie said, a little too quickly. “Inviting your ex doesn’t exactly convince people we’re together.”

Richie rolled his eyes. “Or they’ll see that I’m over him and with you. It’s fine Eds.” He pointed to the general store, which was a couple blocks away. “Our next stop.”

As they walked Richie remembered something about last night. “Your proposal story was perfect. I didn’t know you could ad lib like that.”

Eddie glanced to his left, not looking at Richie. “It wasn’t quite ad libbed.” His tone was hushed, with none of the usual annoyance in it.  

“What does that mean?” 

“I was engaged. The proposal went something like that.” 

Richie’s brain tried to resolve several things at once- that someone had loved Eddie, the demon in salmon shirts- enough to propose. That Eddie had loved someone enough to get that far. That Eddie wasn’t married now. 

He tried to construct his face into something expressionless before he spoke again. “What happened?”

“I said yes.” 

Eddie stopped, long enough that Richie put a hand on him.  “You don’t have to tell me.” He was curious as hell but it wasn’t his business.

Eddie glanced at him, nodded. “No, its fine. You’re my fiance after all.” He laughed to himself. “I said yes, started to plan a wedding, hired a wedding planner. He, well, he decided to sleep with the wedding planner.” Eddie shrugged. “I stopped wedding planning.” 

“Aw Eds.” Richie looked at him, at a loss for what to say. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that.”

Eddie chuckled. “No? That’s rich coming from you. I know about my nicknames in the office- and I know that you gave me most of them.”

Richie balked, trying to come up with a lie. “Eds, that’s not- I didn’t-”

Eddie waved him off. “I don’t care.” He pulled his shoulders back. “I gave up caring what people thought a long time ago. Makes things easier.”

“And lonelier.” 

Eddie glanced at him. “Maybe.” 

They walked in silence for a block then Richie, who had never been good at uncomfortable silences, said, “You know you’re not half bad. When you aren’t pretending to be an asshole.”

Eddie looked up at him. “Oh, I am definitely an asshole. I have a long line of ex’s who would be happy to verify that fact.” He gave Richie a half smile. “But thanks, I guess.”

“Bah, those guys probably weren’t worth it. I’m sure you’re loads of fun.” Eddie just shrugged and Richie nudged him. “Don’t worry, I promise not to tell anymore.”

Eddie smiled. “Good.” 

They finally reached the store, Eddie held the door open for Richie as both went inside. This part went quick, despite Richie trying to convince Eddie that they should buy sweet 16 napkins and graduation plates. Eddie was not as amused as Richie, though he was rewarded once or twice with that smile he was growing to like.

When they got back to his parent’s house both were in full party mode- Maggie was in the kitchen, plating snacks and Went was outside, setting up chairs. “Richie, go help your dad.” Maggie told him, accepting the cake.

“But  _ mommmm _ ,” He wailed, not wanting the manual labor chore. “Eddie is much stronger than me, he’d be an asset to dad. I’m just a nuisance.” 

She shook her head. “I’m keeping my helper with me.” When Richie opened his mouth again she tsked him, “No, go on now Richie.” She said, handing Eddie an apron. 

Eddie was grinning and him and Richie stuck his tongue out the minute her back was turned, making Eddie giggle. Richie’s heart leap at the noise but he refused to think about why.

“I’m supposed to help you.” Richie said, walking up to his dad.

Went glanced at him. “Your fiance would have been better.”

He threw his hands up, “That’s what I said.” 

His dad put down the chairs he was carrying and turned to Richie, pulling something out of his pocket. “Your mother told me that I was maybe a bit harsh yesterday. So I wanted to give you this.” He handed Richie the small box and he flipped it open, revealing an old silver ring. “It was your granddad’s wedding ring. I thought you could give it to Eddie. It might be less fancy than he’s used to but hopefully it’s okay.”

Richie looked from the ring to his dad. He recognized it, of course, it had sat on his parent’s dresser for decades. His dad had worn it as his own ring for years, until he got a new one for their twentieth anniversary. “Dad, I can’t.” He tried to give it back, unsure how to even explain the issue.

“Nonsense. It’s supposed to be yours. I would have given it to you before- if I had known you had someone to ask. But now you can have it.”  His dad looked at him and there was no way that Richie could refuse. He nodded and Went smiled. “Good. Now, these chairs won’t set themselves.”

Before Richie knew it the party was in full swing and he was answering questions about how his job was going (fine, thanks for asking) and where he’d been hiding his fiance (in his pocket, clearly). Eddie stayed by his side, sipping on lemonade and letting Richie do the talking. They accepted some small gifts that all came with the neighborly guilt of ‘it was such short notice I didn’t know what you’d like’. When Mike showed up, he noticed that Eddie moved a little closer, even reaching up to kiss his cheek. He liked that, swing an arm over Eddie’s shoulders and trying to feed him some cheese. Eddie refused but it was the thought that mattered. 

“Now since it’s my birthday,” His dad said, standing and gesturing at everyone. “I would like to propose a toast to my son, who finally stopped his galavanting ways and found someone to settle down with. Eddie, I hope you know that he’s not a morning person and that he can’t sing worth a darn.” Richie rolled his eyes but smiled good naturedly. “But we’re happy for you two.” He raised a glass. “To Richie and Eddie.”

“To Richie and Eddie!” Everyone chorused. For his part, Richie took a deep bowing, earning some chuckles. Eddie looked like he wanted to disappear.

“Now you’ve got to kiss!” One of his neighbors called out.

Eddie paled and he tried to laugh it off. “We’re not much for PDA Mrs. Henderson!” 

But another neighbor scoffed, “Richie you gave everyone in your kindergarten class a hug on the first day! Kiss your fiance!” A murmur of agreement went through the crowd and Richie glanced at Eddie, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Like you mean it! It’s your engagement party after all!” Someone crowed. He met Eddie’s eyes and the other man quickly nodded, seeming to just want this to end. Richie bent down, quickly pressing his lips to Eddie’s. Again the crowd wasn’t satisfied so he murmured a quick ‘sorry’ and swept Eddie up in his arms before bending him down dramatically and kissing him, hard. Eddie’s hands grabbed his shoulders, searching for a way to hold on and then pressing into him more as they kissed. For a second, he forgot about everyone else in the room and only thought about how damn soft Eddie’s lips were. 

“Okay okay we get it!” Someone called and Richie remembered where they were. He lifted Eddie backup and the crowd cheered. Then everyone went back to normal, breaking into smaller conversations. When Richie glanced back to say something to Eddie the other man had disappeared. Richie whipped his head around, looking for him but instead he saw Mike walking towards him.

“That looked awful.” He said, giving him a pitying grin. 

Richie nodded, “It wasn’t ideal but you know how angry mobs are, bloodthirsty for kisses.” Both paused and Richie could sense that Mike wanted to say something else. 

“You two seem-” Mike started then paused, thinking. “Out of sync.” He finished. 

Richie opened his mouth to reply then shut it, giving his brain a second to think of a reply. “What does that mean?” 

“You zig and he zags.” Mike replied, with no judgement. “You don’t seem like you’ve been together too long.”

“Whirlwind romance,” Richie replied, trying to make a joke.

Mike paused, looking at Richie in that annoyingly earnest way he had, like he could see through all of Richie’s lies and bullshit. “We were together for nearly a year before you even said you loved me. You are one of the most impulsive people I’ve ever met but not when it comes to love. You always said you wanted a romance like your parents had.” Richie glanced at them, seeing his dad feeding his mom some cake, the two laughing. 

“Maybe I was just waiting for the right person.” Richie said, forcing himself to meet Mike’s eyes. 

“Then I hope Eddie is that person.” Mike said. There was no judgement in his voice but still Richie felt deeply judged. Maybe by himself more than Mike.  

“He is. And I should go find him.” 

Mike shrugged and Richie turned, scanning each room to try and find the smaller man. He kept getting sidetracked by people asking for their story and after over an hour he still hadn’t found him. The party was winding down and Richie was tasked with wrapping up the food and saying goodbye to family friends. 

When he finished nearly everyone had left, his parents were outside with some close family friends, and Richie was finally free. He decided that he needed to take a shower, he had spilled soda on himself while cleaning and was sticky. He went up to the guest room and stripped down, enjoying that he could be naked for a minute. When he was home he usually wore only boxers, being in fancy party clothes for an afternoon was stifling. He was walking to the bathroom when the bathroom door opened and, startled, he tripped on a rug, tumbling forward and into someone’s arms.

“Richie?!” Eddie yelped. His arms wrapped around Richie, trying to hold him up, and Richie’s were around him for the same reason. 

A half second after Richie realized who it was he realized they were both naked and that Eddie’s skin was damp and Richie felt a drip from his hair fall onto his arm as he leapt back.

“What the hell?” Richie asked, covering himself. Eddie did the same, turning a bright shade of red all down his chest. He grinned then, looking at Eddie, “You know Kaspbrak, if you wanted to see my twigs and berries you just needed to ask.”

Eddie make a strangled noise and Richie was sure he would have throttled Richie if his hands weren’t occupied. 

“You were the one who barged in on me!” Eddie yelled, his tone undercut by his complete embarrassment. “Why are you naked?” 

“I was going to shower!” Richie explained, raising his own voice to match Eddie’s.  He wasn’t actually angry but Eddie had a way of making him want to yell back whenever he explained himself. “Why are  _ you  _ naked?”

“I just showered! And there weren’t any towels in there.” Eddie explained, almost moving one hand to gesture but remembering just in time. 

“Well! That explains it then!” Richie said and, to his surprise, Eddie started to laugh. He had expected Eddie to remain angry, to keep yelling at him. “You okay there?” Richie asked, watching as Eddie doubled over, still laughing.

Eddie shook his head. “No, no this is stupid. We’re both idiots.” He walked to the closet. “Turn around.” He told Richie, waiting until Richie did. He heard the closet open and Eddie grab  towel. Richie had to resist the urge to turn around, he really wanted to see Eddie’s ass, but he didn’t. Richie Tozier was a gentleman. 

“Where’d you go?” He asked, trying to distract himself. “Ou ditched our engagement party. People will talk.” 

“For a run.” Eddie replied. “You can turn back.” When he did Eddie had a towel wrapped around his waist, which did nothing to stop Richie’s eyes from roaming over his chest and arms.

“Why?” 

“Do you want to have this discussion now?” Eddie asked, gesturing at Richie. 

He shrugged. “Why Eds? Can’t concentrate?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Wanna jump these bones?” 

Eddie scoffed. “I can manage.” He moved to his bag, rifling through it and grabbing his pajamas. 

“So?” He asked when it was clear that Eddie wasn’t going to reply. “Why the run?”

“I needed to clear my mind.” He said as he pulled on his underwear and shorts under the towel. 

“My kiss was too much. I know, I’ve heard that before.” Richie leaned against the dresser, wishing he could scratch his nose.

“Not exactly.” Eddie said, pausing to pull on a shirt. “It’s a lot, okay? All of this, it’s a lot. I needed some time to think.” 

“This was your idea.” Richie reminded him. 

“I’m aware.” Eddie snapped. Then he took a breath. “Mike seems nice.” 

“Oh yea baby, talk to me about my ex while I’m naked.” Richie tried to deflect but Eddie just stared at him. Now he was the one waiting for a real answer. “He is nice. He’s nice and kind and pretty much perfect but he didn’t want to leave Derry and I did so,” He shrugged. “We broke up.”

Eddie nodded. “So you’d go back to him?”

“No. Maybe? Why?” Richie never thought about it, it wasn’t an option. He wasn’t sure if he’d want to go back to Mike, they’d both changed and Richie didn’t know if he wanted someone like Mike anymore. 

“Nothing.” Eddie ducked his head. “Weren’t you going to shower?” 

Richie took the hint and disappeared into the bathroom, remembering to grab a towel first. When he got back Eddie was nestled in bed, sleeping- or at least pretending to. 

The next morning they had a similar awakening from his parents, again resulting in Richie scrambling into the bed. 

“Richie!” Maggie said, offering them another tray of food. “I thought we could go suit shopping today.” Richie opened his mouth to say that he didn’t think that was a good idea but she tutted him. “I know, I’m sure you have some fancy place in New York that you want to go but let me take you both, please? I’d love to help with the wedding somehow. And you know how I love seeing my boy dressed up!” She pinched his cheek.

Richie looked at Eddie, helplessly. Eddie nodded and Richie turned to her. “We’d love to.”

“Oh good! Get dressed and we’ll go. I already made an appointment.” Her and Went left the room and Richie had the distinct feeling he’d been suckered.

“She’s right you know.” Richie said, turning to Eddie. “I look good in a suit.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’ll try to contain myself then.” He looked adorable, his hair stuck up from sleep, pillow lines on his face. Richie had the urge to tickle him- or maybe just to touch him. Either way, he suppressed it and jumped out of the bed, grabbing clothes to change. When he got back Eddie had already changed too and they went downstairs where his mom was waiting. She ushered them into a car, telling Eddie pieces of local history as they drove. 

“Here we are!” She said, pulling up to a tradition bridal store. Richie saw Eddie hesitate then glance around. As his mom went in he went to the other man, putting an arm around him.

“This town has a lot of shitty things but homophobia isn’t one of them. I promise.” He said, hoping that he was right about what was stressing Eddie out.

“Really? Lots of gay people in your one street town?” 

Richie shrugged. “No, it’s more of a ‘do what you want just pick up your goddamn dog poop’ town.” 

“I thought you hated growing up here. Men being men and shit.” 

“I did.” Richie tried to think of how to explain it. “Look, everyone will come to our engagement party and sell us a suit then they’ll go home and say how happy the are that their kids didn’t turn out like that Tozier boy. They’re better than how they used to be, especially my parent’s friends, but it doesn’t always mean its easy.” He looked at Eddie, who nodded like he understood. “Are you okay with this?” He asked, the other man still seemed reluctant. 

“Why do you care? I’m the one who forced us to do all this, I have to accept the consequences right?” 

He frowned. This bite from Eddie wasn’t something he’d heard since they arrived. “If you’re stressed-”

“Your mom is waiting.” Eddie interrupted. “We should go in.” He slipped from under Richie’s arm and walked inside, a broad smile on his face as she showed him a range of bright ties. Richie followed and was instantly whisked away to try on a tux.

When he came out Eddie and his mom were sipping champagne. She jumped up, adjusting his bow tie and smoothing the sides. “Look how cute you are Puppy! Oh, I love this.”

He looked at Eddie, who had an eyebrow raised, clearly trying not to laugh. “It’s a tad tradition mom.” He said, poking the shoulders. His mom had picked a 90’s tux, broad shoulders and not fitted. “I feel like a kid dressing up.”

“Well I think you look great.” She pulled back, looking at Eddie. “What does the fiance think?”

“I think,” Eddie stood, grabbing a second option from a rack. “That this will look better.” He handed the suit to Richie, who was a little skeptical but took it. 

Once he tried it on though he had to admit that Eddie was right. This was much better, a closer fit and better tailored to his narrow frame. 

“Oh! Look at you!” Maggie cooed when he came out. “Oh, let Eddie dress you from now on you look so handsome!” She was on him again, her hands on his hips. “He made you look less like a string bean- and that’s not easy!”

“Thanks mom.” He mumbled, looking at Eddie. He had an odd expression on his face and was slightly pink. “What do you think  _ fiance _ ?” He asked, doing a quick spin.

Eddie coughed then stood, looking Richie over. “It’s good. We would still need to take it in in some places.” His hands swept over Richie’s sides, bunching the extra fabric in his hands. “But, this is good.” He thumbed over the bright pink bow tie Richie had picked. “I like this.”

Richie smiled down at him. “A spot of color for you.” 

Bright spots appeared on Eddie’s cheeks and he glanced down, taking a step back. Maggie didn’t notice, she had turned to pick out a new suit for Eddie. “Try this on! I want to see both of you all dressed up!”

Wordlessly Eddie took the suit, going into the room. Maggie was looking at him and he could tell that she was bursting to ask him something. “What mom? Spit it out before you burst.”

She smiled then nodded. “Fine, fine. Okay, Went and I were thinking you should get married here! Maybe just a simple ceremony at the courthouse? Whenever you boys decided to tie the knot. It would mean so much to me and your father- you could still have a party in the big city but imagine, a nice small ceremony here.” She looked at him so hopefully that Richie wasn’t sure what to say. “For your old parents who have done so much for you over the years.”

“A request and a guilt trip? You’re pulling double duty.” 

She adjusted his tie, still smiling. “Richie be nice. I know it’s a lot but- think about it. Talk to Eddie.” She spun around. “I’ll go look at mother of the groom dresses.” She was off before Richie could reply. 

Eddie came out of the room and Richie’s mouth dropped. He looked amazing, the suit fit him like a glove and he looked comfortable in it, something Richie could never achieve when dressed up. He always felt a little awkward, like he was a kid going to his first dance. 

“You look great Eds.” He said, unable to stop staring at him.

Eddie looked at himself in the mirror, shrugging. “It’s fine. It needs to be taken in.”

Richie came up behind him, standing close. “Accept the compliment.” Eddie’s eyes looked at him in the mirror. Their eyes caught and Richie heart’s skipped a beat. He couldn’t take it- how Eddie was looking at him and how he was staring back. Something had shifted between them and Richie didn’t know how to handle it. 

Without thinking he spun Eddie around, putting his hands on the other man’s shoulders. Eddie looked up at him expectantly and his tongue darted out, wetting his lips.  Before Richie could stop himself he was leaning down and kissing Eddie, their lips meeting in a brush before both moved in for more, pressing their lips together in a real kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi this chap took FOREVER. I couldn't decide on how to end it. But now it has an end AND the last chap is started so we are winning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Still not enough time Mom.” Richie said, trying to cut her off before she either passed out or told an embarrassing story about him.
> 
> Maggie rolled her eyes. “Fine then. You two are as slow as molasses in January. Here,” She took a twenty from her purse. “Take Eddie out for lunch and talk about it. Call me when you’re done I have some errands to run.”
> 
> “Mom I’m not in high school, you don’t have to give me money for dates.” He paused. “Also twenty isn’t enough.”

“Boys!” Maggie called, making them both jump apart. She came back with a yellow dress and held it up. “What do you think of this? Have you two picked colors yet? Please don’t pick purple, it washes Richie out. He looks like a vampire- unless that’s what you’re going for.” 

“That looks great Mrs. Tozier.” Eddie said quietly. He had already taken two big steps back- the distance did nothing to hide how red he was.

“Maggie! I told you, call me Maggie.” She looked at Richie. “What do you think Puppy? Would your old mom look good in this?” 

“Try it on mom, show us.” Richie said, desperate for a few minutes alone with Eddie. 

She nodded, disappearing into a dressing room and muttering about how none of the Toziers could wear purple. 

“Eds- should we-” Richie started, taking a tentative step towards Eddie. 

“I’m going to change.” Eddie said, quickly disappearing into the second changing room and leaving Richie alone. He wanted to apologize or explain himself but it was clear Eddie didn’t want to hear it. 

Except that Eddie had kissed him too. That thought kept running through his head as he stared at the door that separated them. 

Maggie emerged first, hmming at the dress. “I don’t think I like this. It makes me look old. And I’m not old right kiddo?”

Richie missed the question. “What?” He asked, turning to her right as the other door opened. Eddie was back in his regular clothes but was still ignoring Richie. 

Maggie stood between them, looking at herself in the mirror. “Did you ask Eddie? About getting married here?” She asked. Eddie’s head shot up and Richie coughed. 

“No, there wasn’t really enough time.” He said. 

Maggie nodded and turned to Eddie, explaining her request. Once she was done Eddie looked at Richie, his eyes wide with panic. “What do you boys think? It would mean so much to us. Eddie we already adore you, we’d love to have you get married in Richie’s childhood home. Unless you wanted to get married in your hometown? Where are you from? I don’t think i asked.”  
“Mom let him breath.” Richie muttered. 

“I’m from a small town in Canada.” Eddie mumbled. 

“Oh! Small like Derry?” She asked.

Eddie nodded. “Something like Derry.” 

“Well you two talk, I’m going to change out of this. You two need to decide your colors before I can pick a dress.”

She left and they were alone again. Richie looked at Eddie, confused. “I thought you were from Toronto.”

Eddie shook his head. “I moved there at 17, to get away from my mom and my town.” He glanced around. “Some small towns aren't as accepting as Derry.”

Richie nodded, understanding what that meant. Slowly, he moved in, wrapping his arms around Eddie. Eddie stiffened but then leaned into the hug, letting Richie offer some small comfort for whatever past wrongs he’d endured. Richie knew he should say something -about the kiss, about this wedding- but he couldn’t bring himself to ruin the moment. 

Maggie came out again, sighing happily. “Look at you two, so cute. I’ve been thinking, for the wedding, maybe we can cater! I’ve been cooking for some local baby showers and people seem to really like it. I mean, I’ll make something fancier for the wedding- unless you two want those little hot dogs in crescent rolls? I know Richie used to love them.” 

“Still not enough time Mom.” Richie said, trying to cut her off before she either passed out or told an embarrassing story about him. 

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Fine then. You two are as slow as molasses in January. Here,” She took a twenty from her purse. “Take Eddie out for lunch and talk about it. Call me when you’re done I have some errands to run.”

“Mom I’m not in high school, you don’t have to give me money for dates.” He paused. “Also twenty isn’t enough.” 

She sighed and dug out a second twenty. “Now go!” 

“Okay okay.” Richie went to change. When he came out his mom was, mercifully, gone and Eddie was roaming the store, frowning at the options. He seemed to have relaxed- it seemed like judging clothes put him in a better mood. 

“We’re not buying suits from here.” Eddie told him as they left. “They’re all cheap and factory made.”

“Our fake wedding needs fancy suits?” 

“It’s a real wedding,” Eddie reminded him. “It’s the romance that’s fake.”

Richie wasn’t so sure about that. He knew that they should talk about it but Eddie was actually talking to him and he couldn’t bring himself to ruin it by discussing what that kiss meant. 

“Are you hungry?” Richie asked and Eddie shook his head. “Me either, lets get ice cream.”

“It’s barely 10am.”

“Who cares?” Richie asked, grabbing Eddie’s hand and directing them to the store. Eddie didn’t pull away, instead letting Richie thread their fingers together as they walked. 

“What do you think about Mag’s proposal? Getting hitched in Derry? I’m sure the general store sells ‘Just Married’ balloons.” He didn’t want to talk about this either but he knew they had to before they saw his mom again.

“Fine.” 

Richie frowned. Eddie’s short response implied that it was anything but fine.  “Well what do you want to do? Did you have a plan for all this?” He asked, waving a hand between them. 

“No Richie. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t intend to marry you 3 days ago so no, I haven’t planned out what our wedding should look like.” Eddie snapped, pulling his hand back and crossing his arms. 

This was better. At least Richie was comfortable here, arguing with his boss. “You asked me Eddie. Now my family is involved. Stop acting like an asshole and talk about centerpieces with me.” 

Eddie scowled at him and Richie thought he was going to stalk off. But instead he spat out, “No lilies. I fucking hate lilies.” 

Richie tilted his head back and laughed, stopping in the middle of the street. Eddie looked surprised but soon he was smiling too. 

“God Eds, you’re a weirdo. Fine, no lilies. Anything else?” 

They bought ice cream, talking about flowers and colors. Richie was surprised, he expected Eddie to have everything planned out in his head- especially since he’d done it before- but maybe that was the problem, he didn’t want it to be like before. He listened to Richie’s ideas, jotting some of them down in his phone. Richie couldn’t get him to agree to a bouncy house though, which he thought was a shame. 

By the time they were done with their cones they had planned a decent amount of things, especially since they agreed they wanted it quick and simple. 

“Well,” Richie said, putting an arm around Eddie and pulling him close. “Who knew planning a fake wedding could be so fun? Mags will be thrilled. The fake honeymoon will be even better, I’m thinking Hawaii.” 

“I want to pay for it.” Eddie said suddenly, looking at him. “I can’t let your parents pay for our sham.” He looked determined and Richie felt something swell in him. 

“I’ll help.” He said, nodding.  He didn’t want them to pay for it either, especially because eventually he’d have to tell them it was fake. 

Eddie smirked. “I’ve seen your paychecks Richie, I can pay for it.” 

“Perfect time for a raise.”Richie said, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s forehead. It was an impromptu gesture, something that felt right in the moment but Eddie’s reaction told him otherwise. He moved back, putting distance between them. Richie opened his mouth to apologize but Eddie was shaking his head so instead Richie said, “I’ll call Mags, get us a ride home.” 

Eddie nodded. They spent the rest of the day answering questions about the wedding. Maggie was beside herself, taking notes the whole time and even Went seemed excited, especially about the idea of ‘small’ and not paying for it. Eddie was quiet at first but joined in when Went suggested a plaid theme, shaking his head and flat out refusing. Richie got to see the fun Eddie again, the one who teased him and made Maggie smile. He liked that Eddie quite a bit.

“Maggie is going to insist on weekly video calls.” Richie said as they both turned away from the other to change into their pajamas. “I haven’t seen her this excited since she planned my graduation party and I always assumed that was because I was leaving.” Eddie laughed as he turned around and bent down to start making his makeshift bed.

“Richie?” Eddie asked. He straightened, seeing the other man biting his lip. 

“Eds?” 

“Do you want to sleep in the bed?” He asked quietly. “There’s plenty of room and-”

“Well golly,” Richie put his hands on his hips. “Sharing a bed with my fiance? How modern! Just promise me that you won’t take my virtue Eds, I plan to be a blushing virgin when we get married.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “You made me regret that in record time.” Richie reached over and ruffled his hair playfully, enjoying how Eddie immediately fixed it. They crawled into bed, careful not to touch the other.

Eddie turned off the light and Richie had the urge to curl against him, making Eddie his small spoon. They were quiet for a second but Richie couldn’t stop the thoughts that were barrelling through his mind. 

“Hey Eds,” He whispered, “Are you sleeping?”

“No,” Eddie said and Richie heard him turn over, facing Richie. “What?”

He ran his tongue over his lips, wondering if he was going to get yelled at for his question. “What’s your tattoo of?” 

Eddie took a second then asked, “Why do you care?”

“What if they ask me? You know in that big scary immigration interview.” 

“Tell them you’ve never seen it.” Richie could see him well but guessed that Eddie was blushing. 

“No one will believe that we haven’t had sex. Look at you, who wouldn’t jump your bones. Or mine. We’re both very very sexy.” 

Eddie went silent again. Richie expected him to refuse but then he reached over and grabbed his phone, turning on the flashlight and pulling down a corner of his shorts. Richie’s heart was racing, his eyes falling to the skin over Eddie’s hip bone. He revealed a small heart with the initials JS in it. 

Richie brought his hand up, swiping over the faded tattoo. “Is that him?” He asked, referring to Eddie’s ex.

When Eddie didn’t reply Richie looked up, seeing that Eddie was biting his bottom lip, staring at Richie. “Did I do something wrong?” He asked, concerned.

Eddie shook his head. “No, you’re fine. I- yea, that’s him.” 

“I can see why you wanted it removed.” 

He nodded. “Not the best memory.” 

Richie realized his hand was still on Eddie, curled over his bare hip so the tattoo was hidden. God they were close, Richie wanted to curl his arm around Eddie and pull him close, to hold him. 

Then Eddie drew back, pulling his shorts back up. “Well, goodnight.” He said turning off the light and flipping over, making it clear that he was done talking. 

“Goodnight Eds.” 

Richie woke up the next day because he was warm. It took him a second to figure out why. He was nestled under a thick layer of blankets, the comforter tucked under his chin, but that wasn’t the only reason. Eddie was draped over his back, keeping Richie close with a leg and arm draped over him. He chuckled to himself, realizing he wasn’t the only cuddler. 

He knew he should get up, spare Eddie the embarrassment, but instead he took Eddie’s hand in his own, brushing his thumb over Eddie’s knuckles. The smaller man sighed, nestling closer to him. His head was on the crook of Richie’s neck and every part of him sung out to kiss him. 

That was what convinced him to get up, knowing that he would if he didn’t leave. 

Richie slipped into the bathroom and Eddie was gone by the time he came back. He went downstairs, seeing that Maggie had a wedding planner spread out in front of Eddie, going over details with him. 

“Richie! I thought we could look at flowers today. Eddie mentioned that your colors were white and pink, maybe we could look at lilies?”

“No lilies.” He mumbled, grabbing a cup of coffee. “Eds doesn’t like them.” He fell into a seat next to Eddie, resting his head on Eddie’s shoulder.  

Eddie glanced at him as Maggie stood to ask Went something. “Are you okay?” He asked, a hand sweeping Richie’s bangs. He felt Richie’s forehead. “You’re a little warm.”

“Wrong I’m hot.” Richie mumbled, burying his head in Eddie’s shoulder. He didn’t know how to explain what he felt. How he wanted to kiss Eddie and have it be real. How a week ago he wanted Eddie’s head on a plate and now he wanted to wake up next to him every day. He was falling for him, hard and fast, but he didn’t know how to say any of that. 

So instead he shook his head and looked up. “I’m peachy keen Eds, let’s get those flowers.”

Before long Richie was bored in a flower store. He had no idea how many options there were and he didn’t care. He tried to help but he kept tuning out. Now he was wandering around, smelling each flower and trying to think of new, better names for them - like awesome yellow flower or weird smelling blue flower with purple tips.

He was vaguely listening to his mom’s excited rambles and only snapped to attention when he heard her mentioned the ring. He hadn’t given it to Eddie yet, he wasn’t sure he was going to. 

“Richie hasn’t given it to you? Richie! Come over here!” Maggie called out and he shambled over. 

“Yes mumsy?” 

“Why haven’t you given Eddie your dad’s ring? He doesn’t even have a ring. Your boy deserves a ring?”

“He doesn’t have to.” Eddie mumbled, looking deeply uncomfortable. 

“Yes he does! You deserve it.” She tsked at him. “Richie what are you doing? He’s your fiance!”

“Mom let it go.” He said, watching Eddie’s expression. He looked like he wanted to disappear.

“No Richie! You asked him to marry you but didn’t provide a ring! What were you thinking?”

“Mrs. Tozier, please, its fine.” Eddie said. 

Maggie shook her head. “It’s sweet of you to say that but it’s not. We’re going home right now to get the ring.” She strode away and Richie looked from Eddie to the confused florist, trying to think of what to say. 

“Come on!” She called, already at the door. The boys followed, unsure what else they could do. 

Back at the house she looked at him, pointing a finger at Richie. “Propose to him, with a ring this time.” 

“This is so weird.” He said, trudging up the stairs to get the ring. When he came back down Maggie pointed outside, where Eddie was sitting on his old tire swing.

“I’m supposed to propose.” Richie said, standing over him, rolling the ring in his hands. 

“I heard.” Eddie looked up at him. “I can’t wear that. It means too much.” 

Richie nodded, scooting Eddie to sit by him. “I know. It’s weird. It makes it feel too real.” He glanced at the kitchen, grateful that his mom at least wasn’t watching them. “But they’ll never leave us alone until you do.” 

“I know.” Eddie held out his palm and Richie dropped the ring into it, watching him slip it on. He held it up, both examining how it looked. Richie had to admit the ring looked good on Eddie, some part of him loved seeing it on his finger. Knowing it was temporary made him sad. 

“Welcome to the family Eds.” Richie said, swallowing his unhappiness. “Let’s go tell Maggie.” He stood, offering Eddie a hand. 

Eddie looked from his hand to Richie, eventually accepting the outstretched hand. The smaller man was quiet as Maggie gushed, saying that they could finally get started. The two spent the rest of the day listening to Maggie and Richie noticed that Eddie was staring at the ring uncomfortably. 

“You alright there Eds?” Richie asked that night as they climbed into bed, turning off the light. “You let Maggie pinch your cheeks, I think you’d bite my head off if I tried that.”

“I would.” Eddie mumbled, crawling next to Richie. He was quiet for a second then asked, “How upset will your family be? That all this is fake?”

Richie puffed out his cheeks, exhaling slowly. “Is that what you’re worried about? The Tozier’s are a hearty people, they’ll bounce back.” 

“They really love you.” 

Richie was confused what that meant. “I mean, they used to threaten to ship me to military school but yea, they’re my parents.” He nudged Eddie’s shoulder. “They like you too ya know.” 

“I know.” Eddie didn’t say anything else. Richie wasn’t sure if he was asleep or not but he didn’t say anything else, instead drifting to sleep. 

The next day he woke up again being fiercely cuddled by Eddie. He wondered the last time that Eddie was touched. The thought made him sad. 

As he thought that he felt Eddie stirring awake and Richie rose, getting up and showering before Eddie could wake up.

When the pair went downstairs they were met with a dozen pieces of cake. “I got us samples!” Maggie said, offering them both forks. “Cake breakfast.”

Richie nodded approvingly. “This is the best part of wedding planning.” He sat down, digging into a piece of red velvet.

Eddie dropped next to him accepting the fork as Richie groaned. “Eds, you gotta try this. It’s heavenly.” He held a forkful up to Eddie’s mouth. The man looked like he was going to refuse but then parted his lips, letting Richie feed him. Something stirred in Richie’s stomach that he decided to chalk up to the early morning sugar.

“It’s okay,” Eddie said, “A little dry.” He reached over for a simple vanilla cake, humming his approval. “This one is much better.”

“Ah?” Richie asked, pointing to his mouth. Eddie giggled, spearing cake on his fork and leaning in to feed Richie. Eddie stopped, a little too close to Richie, and the two of them looked at each other. Richie felt something pass through them, something that was real and wholly unrelated to the charade. 

“Boys!” Maggie sat down, pulling out her wedding planner. “We need to talk about the traditions.”

“Mother we were having a moment.” Richie said, watching Eddie turn bright red. Maggie simply waved him off.

“You’ll have plenty of time for moments. Now! You need something old- which Eddie has since you finally properly proposed to him. Then you’ll need something new- that’s easy. Something borrowed- I was thinking you could borrow my veil? I know you don’t need it but maybe it can go around your flowers? We’ll think about it. Then for something blue-”

“Mrs. Tozier, you don’t need to do all this.” Eddie interrupted. “Please, it’s too much.” 

“Maggie.” She insisted, turning to Eddie. “And it’s not. You’re about to be family and Richie is our only son. We want to do this.” 

Richie swore that Eddie turned green at that. “I’m not feeling well,” He said. “I’m going to lie down.”

Maggie tutted. “Do you want some tea? We can make you tea.” Eddie shook his head, slipping upstairs. Richie watched him leave, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong. Then Maggie was talking to him again, pulling his attention away from Eddie. 

They talked for several hours but Eddie never came back down. 

“I’m going to check on him.” Richie said, standing. His mom nodded at him, polishing off one of the remaining pieces of cake. 

“Hey Eds, it’s me.” Richie said, knocking on the door. No response. Slowly he opened it, not wanting Eddie to bite his head off for waking him up. Except that Eddie wasn’t there. The room was tidy and all of Eddie’s items were gone. There was a note on the bed, the ring on top of it.

_ ‘You don’t have to do this. I’ll go back to Canada. I’m sorry -Eddie’  _

“Shit,” He swore, slipping the ring in his pocket he barrelled down the stairs, throwing on his shoes on as he grabbed the keys. “Mom, I’ll be back.” He said, ignoring her questions. He knew where Eddie was heading but he didn’t know how much of a head start he had. Richie raced to Bangor, hoping he would get there before the plane took off. He didn’t have a plan or any idea what he’d say but he knew he couldn’t let Eddie leave, not without talking to him. 

He got to the airport in record time and looked around. Luckily it wasn’t too big and he quickly spotted Eddie, sitting on a bench, frowning at his phone. 

“Stupid damn flights. What’s the point of frequent flyer if I can’t get on a damn plane.” Eddie mumbled as Richie walked up. 

He stopped in front of the other man, suddenly unsure what the hell he was going to say. Eddie looked up, mouth open to yell at whoever was gawking but his mouth clamped shut as he saw it was Richie. They stared at each other for a second then Eddie said, “I don’t have enough miles for both of us.”

Richie laughed, shaking his head. “You left.” 

“I had to.”

“Why?” 

Eddie bit his lip, shaking his head. “Don’t make me explain.” His voice was strained, the most pitiful that Richie had heard it. 

Richie rocked on his heels. “What if I guess?” Eddie still looked unhappy but he nodded. Richie swallowed then spoke. “This was supposed to be fake and not mean anything. It was supposed to be easy. But then there was a moment where it didn’t feel fake, where you wondered ‘what it’. And you brushed it aside because it was crazy but those moments kept happening again and again.  And it’s only been a few days but you already know you don’t want it to be fake. And this guy that you thought was an asshole is actually really cute and cute and now you’re like ‘shit I like him, I can’t ruin everything by marrying him so I’ll just run’.” 

Eddie nodded, “Exactly. Except for that asshole thing.”

Richie grinned. “Self insert.” 

“I couldn’t do that to you or your family Richie, they’re good people. I can’t put any of you through that.” Eddie explained, looking up at him with sad eyes. “I’d rather go back to Canada. I can find a job there.” 

“I know you can, because you’re smart and hardworking and even funny when you forget that you’re supposed to be an angry hardass.” Eddie rolled his eyes but smiled. Taking a deep breath Richie got down on one knee. “Eddie I know this is all fucked up and out of order but I don’t want to lose you.” With some difficulty he pulled the ring out of his pocket, as Eddie’s hands flew to his mouth. “So, will you marry me? Because I’d like to date you?”

Eddie’s eyes were huge and Richie was vaguely aware that they’d acquired a crowd. Then Eddie nodded, “Yes, okay.”  Richie slipped the ring on Eddie’s finger. Eddie looked at it for a second then bent down, throwing his arms around Richie and kissing him soundly as the crowd cheered around them. 

Eddie broke the kiss, smiling. “This is one hell of a story to tell the kids.”

Richie smiled back, “Oh you want kids? Interesting.” He stood, pulling Eddie up with him and kissing him again. “Let’s get back to Derry, I’ve got a lot to learn about you Eddie Kaspbrak.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finishing fics, finishing fics. Yay!   
> Also yes the joke about the fake honeymoon in Hawaii is a throwback to Op. Hawaii Honeymoon. I'm nothing if not self referential.   
> Thank you all for your comments and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday gift for the amazing Xander! It got kinda out of hand...I'm expecting 3 chapters worth of shenanigans
> 
> Plot based loosely on 'The Proposal' with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds


End file.
